


Star Crossed

by Liyyah



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 05:34:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4423337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liyyah/pseuds/Liyyah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver is a prince and Felicity is a servant. However, growing up in the palace together, they had become friends. And both had developed feelings that were a little more than friendly. When the palace is attacked one night and Oliver does the unthinkable to save Felicity, those feelings only grow. Will they eventually find a way to be together? Or was their love doomed from the start?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Attack

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a one shot posted in my drabble collection as Love Story but a lot of people wanted a continuation and I ended up writing a part two so I decided to just move the whole thing over here. I'll be posting the next part tomorrow so if you liked this you can look out for that! This first part was also inspired by The Selection a bit.

Felicity was awakened by the sound of cries and shouts echoing from beyond the closed doors of her room. She groggily sat up, her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she noted the cloud of fear that had descended upon the palace. Something was horribly wrong.

In her sleepy state, it took a few seconds longer than it should have but suddenly, it dawned on her.

_They were under attack._

As soon as the realisation settled in, Felicity jumped out of bed, knowing that she couldn’t stay there or they would find her. And she didn’t even want to think about what they would do to her if that happened.

Struggling to breathe, the blonde slowly opened the door, carefully peeking to make sure it was safe. After a split second of hesitation that she couldn’t afford, she stepped out into the hallway, the distant sounds of fighting reaching her ears.

Ignoring her racing heart, she began walking in the direction of the closest safe room that was designed for servants. That was all she had to do. She just needed to get there and she would be fine. Everything was going to be fine.

She almost believed herself until she heard wild footsteps heading in her direction.

For a brief moment, her heart stopped, blue eyes growing wide with terror. But right before the rebel came around the corner, Felicity spotted a door. Without wasting even a second, she dashed towards it, thanking her lucky stars that it was unlocked as she quickly swung it open and darted inside.

Her eyes absently wandered to the small bed against the wall and Felicity had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. Tangled in the sheets was a body, decorated in deep ribbons of red. The man’s throat was slit and there were wounds all over his chest and stomach. His eyes were open, staring blankly at the ceiling and the sight almost made Felicity throw up.

Her vision blurred as she sank to the floor, her legs giving out and she couldn’t stop staring at the bloody spectacle no matter how hard she tried. He was just a servant. Just another unimportant man in the grand scheme of things and this was what they had done to him. This is what they would do to her, if not worse.

She couldn’t help but think of the royal family. They were the real targets of the rebels. What would happen to them if they had been caught? To Prince Oliver? Princess Thea? The King and Queen?

Felicity couldn’t even bear the thought of anything happening to any of them. But no, they were safe. They had to be. The entire family had guards present with them at all times they would be okay. But her own fate wasn’t so secure. She needed to get to the safe room.

Finally hauling herself up, she spared one last look at the murdered man lying in a pool of his own blood.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her words lost on dead ears.

And then she was on the move again.

Felicity was frantically running through the hallway, still spooked by the image of the lifeless servant. She should have been more careful. Should have been alert, walking cautiously instead of like a madwoman. But everything was spinning out of control and her brain threatened to implode and she just needed to escape. The safe room was so close. She was almost there. She could make it.

And she almost did.

Until she collided with the broad hard chest of a rebel.

The earth seemed to slow down as Felicity looked up into the cold steely eyes of a man who would kill her without even flinching. He was wearing red and black, the enemy’s trademark colours. There were flecks of blood on his face and something told Felicity that it didn’t belong to him.

She whirled around, already knowing that she wouldn’t be able to get away but she was desperate, she had to try. Felicity had barely taken two steps when his fingers clasped her arm, causing her to cry out.

He shoved her roughly against the wall and pain shot through her body. He grasped her face with his bony fingers, a hungry expression on his features that caused her heart to race with fright.

“Such a pretty little thing,” he rasped, his awful breath against her face almost causing her to gag.

“You’re coming with me.”

But before he could make another move, Felicity managed to knee him in the stomach, causing him to stumble back for a second. That moment was all she needed as she instantly ran, a flicker of hope still alive in her chest that she might be able to escape.

But it wasn’t long before a hand grabbed at her hair, pulling hard until she was on the floor. She was unable to stop herself from yelling out in pain. Tears stung her eyes as he yanked her up by her golden strands and Felicity could feel some of the hair being torn from her roots.

He wrapped his other hand around her throat, forcing her to look at him and Felicity saw death in his eyes.

In a last attempt of despair, she continued to fight, kicking and screaming as if there was no tomorrow, because for her, there wasn’t.

Her nails scratched his face and he growled, his fingers closing tighter around her neck as he choked her until she saw stars behind her eyes. She couldn’t breathe she couldn’t breathe she couldn’t breathe she was going to die. Panic clawed at her insides as she tried to get him to let go but he wouldn’t let go as he grinned at her without mercy, flashing his chipped dirty teeth at the girl he was suffocating.

She was going to die.

This was it.

She hoped Oliver was safe.

Suddenly, her captor removed his hand from around her throat and Felicity collapsed to the ground, coughing frantically as she struggled to fill her lungs with oxygen.

“Do you really think I’m going to kill you that easily?” he taunted, kneeling to her level as he silently commanded that she look at him.

And maybe it was because Felicity was bold or brave. Or maybe she was just stupid. But as soon as the words left his mouth she spit at his face.

The rebel’s eyes flashed with anger, and before Felicity could even react, a sharp pain in the middle of her stomach caused her to cry out.

_He had stabbed her._

Without wasting a second, he sharply tugged her upright, his arms being the only thing that supported her because her legs had forgotten how to work.

“Hopefully that should keep you quiet for a while,” he mumbled harshly, his voice distorted. “I’m certainly going to have a lot of fun with you.”

The world was quickly coming apart at the seams, darkness threatening to pull her under and she was ready to jump into its arms, finally giving up. There was no way out.

“No you’re not,” a familiar voice interjected out of nowhere.

Then there was the sharp sound of metal against skin and the rebel’s eyes flew open, surprised as a rich red liquid dripped from his mouth. His grip on her disappeared as he fell to floor, revealing Oliver standing behind him holding a bloody sword.

Felicity had already begun to follow her torturer to the floor when Oliver quickly caught her and immediately picked her up in his arms.

“Oliver,” she murmured, a part of her still unsure if he was real or if she was hallucinating and he was merely her last thought before she died.

“I’m here Felicity,” he replied softly, her name rolling off his tongue in _that_ way, coating all four syllables in an emotion she was always too afraid to call love and she knew without a doubt that he was really here.

“It’s okay you’re safe now.”

She let his words wrap around her heart, giving her warmth and comfort to distract her from the blinding pain in her stomach as Oliver rushed through hallway after hallway with her in his arms.

Even in her drowsy state, she wondered why Oliver had been there. The servants and royal family slept on completely different floors. He had absolutely no reason to be there.

_He was looking for her._

Oliver, the prince, risked his life for her, Felicity, the little insignificant servant girl.

He had just killed someone for her. She was very sure that the prince had never killed anyone before. She wanted to ask him if he was alright but she couldn’t seem to remember how to speak.

Felicity was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t even realise that they had made it to their destination.

“Oliver!” the Queen’s relieved voice reached her ears and Felicity’s half closed eyes flew open.

“You brought a servant girl down here?” Oliver’s mother inquired disapprovingly as she spotted the blonde.

She took in as much of her surroundings as she could and she realised that they were in the Royal Safe room. Of course.

“It’s Felicity. She’s my friend,” Oliver replied defensively.

“Oh,” Queen Moira breathed out. Felicity didn’t know that one word could hold so much worry.

She and Oliver had been friends ever since she was a child, having grown up in the palace with her mother being a maid. She knew that at first the Queen didn’t like it, deeming their little interactions inappropriate but her son was even more stubborn than her, and eventually she gave up. But somewhere along the way, she had begun to care for Felicity. She would never openly show it, knowing what everyone would say if they saw her being overly friendly with a person who was so beneath her but it was the little things. The tiny smiles she flashed in her direction and the softness in her eyes when she looked her way and the tenderness in her voice when she spoke to her. Briefly, Felicity was able to glimpse the woman beneath the crown, the one that Oliver and his sister were so fond of.

When Felicity’s mother died, she had personally visited her, away from all the guards and eyes of the outside world and she had held the young girl as she wept in her arms. It was at that moment that Felicity became quite fond of her too.

Now, her expression was one of fear as she took in Felicity’s condition.

“Is she going to be okay?” Princess Thea asked worriedly, running up to her brother.

The Queen and Prince weren’t the only members of the royal family who had taken a liking to her.

“She’s injured,” Oliver responded. “She needs medical attention _now_.”

“Simon!” the King called to the man standing in the corner who she recognised as the doctor of the royals.

Without question, he approached them, quickly surveying Felicity before he ordered Oliver to set her down.

A whimper escaped her throat as another flash of pain ran through her when her body met the cold ground.

Felicity’s head was in Oliver lap, one of his hands entwined with hers and it was the only thing that kept her from completely falling to pieces.

She was barely conscious as the doctor lifted her nightgown to begin working on her wound and if she wasn’t on the brink of death she might have been mortified at the whole royal family seeing her in nothing but her undergarments.

“This is going to hurt a little,” Dr. Simon’s gentle voice sounded as if he was underwater.

Dr. Simon was a damn liar. It hurt a whole fucking lot.

Felicity’s scream echoed throughout the entire room as he began stitching her up. Every cell in her body was enflamed and the tendrils of pain hungrily licked at her skin. They wrapped around her, squeezing until she couldn’t breathe and she could feel herself falling into the blackness and at this point she welcomed it.

“I’m so sorry it’s going to be okay I promise just hold on,” Oliver’s words were the last thing she heard before her universe faded away, still clutching at him as if her life depended on it, because it did.

 

Felicity’s eyes fluttered open to find Oliver sitting in an old chair beside her little bed. He had nodded off but their hands were still clasped together, fingers intertwined. She didn’t know what time it was. But the palace was quiet. The rebels were gone.

She used her other hand to reach up and touch the bandage she could feel at the back of her head. Quickly, she pushed the thought of the rebel jerking her up by her hair out of her mind.

Without even thinking about it, she nervously began to run her thumb across the back of Oliver’s hand.

The simple action caused him to suddenly jolt awake.

“I’m so sorry,” Felicity said hastily, guilt instantly filling her.

“No it’s okay,” he replied as he stretched and she couldn’t help the butterflies that flew around in her stomach.

She tried to sit up but another sharp agonising pang stabbed her and she couldn’t stop the cry that escaped from her throat.

Oliver was at her side in two seconds, gently helping her to lie back down again.

“You need to rest for now,” he said softly. “Don’t move.”

Felicity merely nodded, noticing the worry in his eyes that he couldn’t hide no matter how hard he tried. There was also something else. A heaviness weighing over him and Felicity wanted nothing more than to make it go away.

“Are you okay?” she asked, because he wasn’t the only one who was worried.

“What?” Oliver blinked in confusion for a moment. “Felicity after everything you’ve been through....you’re asking if _I’m_ okay?”

“Oliver you...” she didn’t quite know to bring up the fact that he had killed someone. “The man that had me-”

“I killed him,” Oliver stated matter of factly and Felicity nodded.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

“He had you and he was going to hurt you. Even more than he already had. It was him or you. There was no choice to make.”

Felicity swallowed back tears as he continued, her vision already beginning to blur.

“I would do it again in a heartbeat Felicity. I don’t know what that makes me but honestly I don’t care. The only thing that matters to me is your safety.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

A comfortable blanket of silence covered them for a while. But then Felicity shifted again and she was reminded of the wound in her stomach.

“Um..how long am I going to have to stay in bed?” she inquired.

“I can’t remember what Simon said,” Oliver replied with a sheepish look and Felicity glared at him. “But I do know that it wasn’t bad. The cut wasn’t very deep at all.”

“Yeah he said that he wasn’t going to let me die that easily,” she mumbled, her tormentor’s words coming back to her and hitting her like bricks. “He said he had plans for me.”

“Felicity,” he uttered softly, a storm swirling in his eyes. She knew how much it hurt him to know that there wasn’t really anything he could do. But he had already done enough. He saved her life.

“I’m so sorry.”

Maybe it was because he was looking at her like she was drowning and he couldn’t save her but she couldn’t hold it in anymore. The night’s events finally began to take a toll on her and she let loose the dam of tears that she had been holding back for so long.

Wordlessly, Oliver gently climbed into bed with her and Felicity immediately latched on to him as he held her as best as he could without her having to move too much. Her head was on his chest and she was soaking his shirt and she knew that he wouldn’t care but she did and it was just one more thing that was going wrong everything was falling apart and she didn’t know how to stop it.

She cried and cried until there were no tears left and Oliver let her. He didn’t make false promises that it was all going to be okay or that she would be fine. He simply held her. And in Oliver’s arms, Felicity found that she felt safe again.

_In Oliver’s arms she found home._

She snuggled against him, burying her face in his chest as she broke every rule she had ever made. Servants didn’t end up with princes. Oliver was already betrothed to another. It was the way things were. So she had never let herself get too close, even though she knew she had feelings for him, and that he had them for her too. It would be easier.

But tonight, they were just a boy and girl, away from the prying eyes of the world so she let herself bask in a moment that they would never have again.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Ever,” he fiercely announced.

From the fire in his words Felicity could tell that he meant it. She knew it was impossible but Oliver believed it. So she let herself believe it too.

“I know,” she replied quietly.

Felicity didn’t want to miss a second of being with Oliver but she couldn’t help it when her eyes began to fall shut, sleep threatening to consume her.

“Oliver?” she whispered drowsily, three little words on the tip of her tongue begging to be released.

“Yes?” he asked, and she could feel his heart begin to race as he looked at her, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

But she couldn’t do it. It was already going to hurt in the morning, when they would have to resume their roles as prince and servant once more. She couldn’t let her heart shatter any more than it already had.

“Goodnight,” she said instead, pretending that she didn’t see the flicker of disappointment that flashed across his face.

“Goodnight,” he replied.

However, Oliver and Felicity never needed words. They already knew how far gone they were for each other.

Felicity fell asleep, still pretending that they were no more than a boy and girl in love. That they would fall asleep like this every night for the rest of their lives. That there was hope.

But just before she drifted off completely, she decided to throw caution to the wind and broke her last rule.

“I love you.”

It was barely a whisper. She wasn’t even sure if he had heard it. A part of her hoped he didn’t.

But then he responded.

“I love you too.”

And suddenly, there was no going back.


	2. Never Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's been having nightmares ever since the attack and Oliver realises that something is wrong.

Felicity was basically bed ridden for the next four weeks. She absolutely hated not being able to move and would have probably been bored out of her mind if it hadn’t been for the frequent visits of the Royal siblings. But both Oliver and Thea had busy schedules and even though they made time for her, something Felicity was endlessly grateful for, she did end up being alone quite a lot.

And Felicity found that she did not like being in only the company of her thoughts. Because when they weren’t torturing her with memories of the attack, they found themselves wandering to the prince.

Neither of them had spoken a word about their whispered confessions of love, choosing to avoid the entire situation. Sometimes, Felicity wondered if it had even happened or if it was just a dream. But then she would see Oliver and he would look at her in a way that made her whole world stand still and she would know that whatever had transpired between them that night was real. Something had shifted between the two, no matter how hard she tried to deny it. So eventually, she stopped trying at all.

It was obvious in all the little things, the way his touch always lingered just a bit longer than usual lately and the extra tenderness in his voice when her name fell from his lips. It was the way he constantly glanced at her when he thought she wasn’t aware and the special smile he reserved for only her.

 In the days following the attack, there had been a closeness to them that hadn’t been present before and Felicity ignored every last bit of logic as she found herself getting lost in Oliver. She told the small annoying voice at the back of her head to shut up as she quietly returned his affections.

A knock on her door suddenly broke her out of her thoughts and she shook her head as she shouted for whoever it was to come inside.

“Hey,” Oliver greeted as he walked into the room.

The mere sight of him sent butterflies frittering about in her stomach. Whatever it was that was brewing between them was only getting worse by the second.

“Hi,” Felicity smiled softly as she sat up.

“You’re doing that a lot easier now,” he commented, striding up to the bed before taking a seat at the edge.

“Yep,” she replied happily. “Only a few more days and I can finally get back to work again. Wow I never thought I would be happy about that.”

“Yeah I didn’t realise it was so exciting being my sister’s handmaiden,” he teased, warranting a nudge from Felicity.

“Well we can’t all lead the thrilling lives of princes,” she shot back, but the sting was taken out of her sharp retort as she stifled a yawn.

“Maybe I should leave you to rest,” Oliver announced, never missing anything when it concerned Felicity.

“No!” Felicity cried out a little too loudly. But the last thing she wanted was for Oliver to go away. “I mean, I’m fine.”

“Really?” Oliver inquired with a dubious look.

“Yes. Now please do not leave me alone I am starved of human company,” the blonde complained.

Oliver was unable to hide a smile at her over dramatics but it quickly faded as Felicity yawned again.

“That’s it. You’re taking a nap,” Oliver ordered, ignoring Felicity’s groans of protest.

The truth was that she hadn’t been able to sleep well lately. She had been having nightmares. Ever since that fatal night actually but they kept getting worse and it was beginning to take a toll on her. However, she hadn’t wanted to worry Oliver or anyone else really so she kept it to herself. But Felicity, without a doubt under any circumstances wanted to go to sleep. She couldn’t say any of this to Oliver though.

“I don’t need a nap,” she continued to fight even though she knew she had already lost.

“Felicity,” he uttered, shooting her his Prince Look, the one filled with power that he used to silently threaten people into getting them to do whatever he wanted.

“Oliver,” Felicity returned the tone of voice and look.

They both knew that didn’t work on her.

Oliver narrowed his eyes as he studied her and his heavy scrutiny caused her to gulp. He had a way of seeing right through her and could always divulge when something wasn’t right.

“There’s something you aren’t telling me. What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing!” Felicity insisted but was unable to meet his gaze.

“ _Fe-li-ci-ty_ ,” he drew out the syllables in her name, something he did when he was particularly exasperated with her. It had become a habit from when they were children and Felicity used to stubbornly hide things that were bothering her. Not a lot had changed since she was a girl, if she was honest with herself.

Finally, she sighed, forcing herself to look up at him.

“I’ve been having nightmares okay,” she blurted out. “I can’t sleep. I can barely close my eyes. Every time that I do I see _him_ and it’s like I’m reliving everything all over again and sometimes it’s even worse than what actually happened and I know that it’s not real and that they’re just dreams but I _can’t_ alright.”

Felicity let out a shaky breath and she suddenly realised that her face was wet. She didn’t even know when she had started crying.

Before she could wipe the tears away, Oliver reached out, his hand tenderly brushing against her cheeks and causing sparks to ignite every inch of her skin.

Her eyes threatened to fall shut as she leaned into his touch, drunk on everything that was Oliver.

“I’m sorry,” he said gently, sadness swirling in his blue eyes as he stared at her.

And then she was in his arms, unaware as to how she ended up there but not questioning it for long because there was nowhere else in the entire universe that she would rather be.

He folded himself around her, as if he wanted to protect her from every force on earth that had the potential to harm her. She burrowed her face into his chest, seeking solace and comfort in the boy she loved. The boy who ferociously swore that he would never let anything happen to her.

Felicity clutched him like she was lost at sea and he was the only thing that could save her as all she knew was Oliver. She inhaled and his scent filled her nose, intoxicating her while tendrils of sleep threatened to pull her under.

But she wouldn’t let them win. She couldn’t.

“Oliver,” she mumbled drowsily, the room already beginning to fade away as she tried to sit up but her attempt was futile.

“Shh,” he whispered gently. “It’s okay. I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

_I won’t let anyone hurt you._

Felicity firmly grasped those words in her fists, tucking them away safely in her heart as she at last surrendered to sleep and drifted off into nothingness.

 

Felicity slowly opened her eyes, the first solid thought entering her mind was that she had gotten an uninterrupted sleep.

_No nightmares._

The second thought that hit her was the fact that she was not alone in her bed, a fact she was able to deduce by the strong pair of arms that were around her. Still in a slight haze, she twisted her body around only to find herself staring at the prince.

Every ounce of breath left her lungs for a second as she took him in, asleep and so so close to her.

The last time they had fallen asleep together she had woken up alone. She had been disappointed but she understood why they couldn’t be caught.

This was the first time she was seeing Oliver in such a peaceful state, for a brief moment without the weight of an entire kingdom on his shoulders. Sometimes Felicity forgot how young he was. Especially of recent, when he appeared to be even more stressed and plagued than usual. But now, he looked like just a boy, all creases of worry erased from his features.

She leaned against him, indulging herself in a moment that would never occur again because it was too dangerous. And while one day this would all be a distant memory, it was very real right now.

All of a sudden Oliver began to stir, the peacefulness Felicity had been staring at only seconds ago evaporating without a trace.

“No,” he murmured in distress and Felicity could feel his heart pounding in his chest. “Please, no.”

“Oliver,” Felicity called out, gently shaking him as her own heart began to race.

“I said stop,” he continued to mumble in his slumber.

“Oliver!” Felicity cried out more urgently. “Wake up!”

And then before Felicity could even blink, Oliver sprang up, his hand grabbing her throat as she gasped in alarm as she stared at a stranger with wild eyes rampant with fear.

The instant he realised what he was doing, he let her go, inching away from her as if she was fire and he had just been burned as Felicity struggled to catch her breath.

_No, it was the other way around. He was the fire and he was afraid to hurt her even more._

“Felicity I’m sorry,” Oliver rasped. “I’m so so sorry.”

His hands were shaking and his chest heaving and Felicity had never seen anyone look so tortured. Her heart ached as it dawned on her that he had been suffering all by himself for so long.

“It’s okay Oliver,” she replied softly, carefully reaching out to him as she would a wounded animal.

But he shied away from her touch, pretending he didn’t see the flash of hurt in her eyes as he rose from the bed.

“It’s not. I almost hurt you. I _did_ hurt you.”

He paused for a moment as he took one last look at her.

“I should leave. I’m sorry.”

“Oliver, stop. Wait!” Felicity yelled as she climbed out of the bed as carefully as possible.

“Felicity!” Oliver hissed, his eyes immediately darting to her stomach, causing Felicity to roll her own eyes in return.

“I’m fine,” she said and they both knew she was talking about more than her injury. Her mostly healed injury that allowed her to move about and walk to a certain extent but of course Oliver never heard her when she reminded him of that so she had just given up.

Felicity slowly walked towards him and he let her, his eyes downcast as he refused to meet her gaze. She could feel the shame rolling off him in waves but she didn’t blame him at all for what had happened. That didn’t mean he didn’t blame himself.

She gently cupped his face, her fingers rubbing against the stubble of his cheek as she returned his earlier gesture. Tenderly, she tipped his chin, forcing him to look at her.

“ _I’m fine_ ,” she repeated softly, silently begging him to forgive himself.

She could see the conflict in his eyes and then finally he sighed and she knew she had won. But even though he had stopped beating himself up for a little while, Felicity could still see the pain in his features. It killed her that there was nothing she could do.

“So I see I’m not the only one who’s been having bad dreams,” she said, dropping her arm because they needed to talk about it.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she inquired when Oliver didn’t respond.

“Maybe for the same reason that you didn’t,” he replied.

He didn’t want to burden her even more. Obviously. One day she was going to murder him for being so damn selfless and honourable all the time.

“Are they about... _you know_. How you killed him?” Felicity asked quickly. It was still strange for her to say those words out loud. It was difficult to wrap her head around Oliver hurting anyone, much less ending a life even though she had been right there.

“No,” he answered. “They’re never really about me. They’re about...you. You always get hurt in them. Sometimes by him or some other nameless face. Sometimes I’m too late or even worse I’m standing right there but there’s nothing I can do but watch as they-”

Oliver broke off as he took a breath, his eyes glassy with unshed tears of helplessness as he balled his fist in anger.

_Oliver’s greatest fears were of her being harmed._

“Hey,” she shattered him out of whatever hellish place his mind had taken him as she placed her hand on his arm, her touch bringing him back to earth. “I’m okay. I’m safe.”

Felicity managed a shaky smile of reassurance for him, despite her own inner turmoil.

“And I’m going to make sure that doesn’t change,” he declared strongly.

They stood enveloped by silence for a few moments before Felicity eventually spoke again.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, looking up at him.

Oliver’s brow furrowed in confusion. In his opinion, he had absolutely no reason to be thanked.

“That was the first time in weeks that I’ve been able to sleep well,” she explained. “So thank you.”

Even in her dreams he had managed to protect her. To make her feel safe.

It was a shame that he couldn’t do that in his own dreams.

Oliver’s expression softened and finally, he flashed her a little smile. It was tiny but it was something.

At that instant she became aware of how close they were standing. Her breaths began coming in short gasps as her heart started pounding in her chest and every one of her nerve endings became a livewire. Electricity pulsed through her veins simply because of their proximity. She could jump into those pools of blue and swim to her heart’s content if she wanted to and oh how she longed to. How she longed for the feel of those lips against hers, the ones that were _right there,_ so near that all she had to do was lean in.

Her brain was yelling at her to stop but everything else screamed to go on and Oliver wore the same expression filled with struggle because they couldn’t do this _it was not allowed_.

It was not allowed.

Abruptly, Felicity’s world came crashing around her as she was rudely reminded of who she was. Of who he was.

Of the fact that despite their nearness they were separated by a different kind of distance that stretched a thousand miles between them.

That they would never be able to be anything more.

Felicity’s heart broke all over again the same way it did every day ever since she first became aware of her feelings for the prince. A revelation that was quickly followed by the realisation that there was no hope for her. For them. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

So with a knife lodged in her chest, she pulled away, taking a step back from her superior.

Oliver blinked, almost as if breaking out of a spell and the weight that usually rested upon his shoulders seemed to have increased tenfold.

“Goodbye Felicity,” he said softly, still trying to catch himself.

“Goodbye Oliver,” she replied, unable to look at him because simply looking at him hurt.

Her eyes were still trained to the floor when she heard her door shut and felt his air of presence leave the room.

The moment he was gone, Felicity collapsed on the bed, her arms folded around her body as if to hold herself together but it was too late she had fallen apart a long time ago.

A new set of tears streamed down her cheeks and this time there was no one to wipe them away. She was all alone.

Felicity soaked each of her pillows as she fought off sleep for another night, hopelessly wishing for her knight in shining armour to appear and battle the demons that haunted her soul but knowing that he wouldn’t.

And she was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting this so late but I ended up going to the beach today and I only just got back but a promise is a promise so here's chapter 2. Also I can't believe that I've received over 100 kudos in only a day thank you so much. Thanks for reading and for such a terrific response. Hope everyone likes this! You guys are amazing :)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope everyone liked this! Reviews fuel my soul :)


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